The opposition staged a walkout from the National Assembly on Thursday after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari blasted the PTI government and Prime Minister Imran Khan over introducing an ordinance allegedly to facilitate the Indian spy-terrorist Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Bilawal said Imran had been claiming that he would not give NRO to anyone but he was the one awarding most NROs in the country including notorious terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan and Jadhav. Previously, it was Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who got an NRO over a cup of tea, he added.
In whose custody Ehsanullah was, how he had been arrested, what the government is doing to capture him again, Bilawal questioned.
The prime minister also gave NRO to Jahangir Tareen, he remarked with reference to his involvement in the sugar scam and his ability to leave Pakistan without any action.
When Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari interrupted him and said both PTI and PPP had objected to the move of accepting the International Court of Justice’s jurisdiction, Bilawal replied it did not mean that a law should be introduced specifically for Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Later, Bilawal pointed out quorum as the opposition members left the House while chanting slogans against Imran Khan.
This scathing criticism came a day after Bilawal at a press conference in Lahore raised serious questions over the escape of Ehsanullah Ehsan and the threat he hurled at him through a tweet. The government isn’t ready to explain how the notorious terrorists managed to escape, he added.
“You talk about the government corruption and get threatened by Ehsanullah Ehsan,” he remarked in reference to his speech in the National Assembly and threatening tweet the next day.
The PTI government hasn’t yet even clarified Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement in which he declared Osama bin Laden a martyr, the PPP chairman reminded the audience.
Before Bilawal’s speech on Thursday, PML-N senior leader Khawaja Asif said the very name of Kulbhushan had been made an insult for his party. “But who is bowing before who now. Why the government is acting like a facilitator of an Indian spy,” he remarked.
Khawaja Asif said the government was opening borders for trade and issuing ordinance for Kulbhushan at a time when Kashmir had become a slaughterhouse.
The PML-N blasted Imran for repeatedly surrendering before the pressure of one after another. “Who is Modi’s friend? The prime minister must tell why he is selling Pakistan’s honour. Kulbhushan is a criminal for Pakistan. He confessed to his crime. He was sentenced,” he added.
Earlier in her speech, Mazari said Pakistan’s stance on Kulbhushan was weakened after the PML-N accepted the jurisdiction of International Court of Justice.
On Wednesday, the government filed an application with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in connection with the sentencing of Kulbhushan Jadhav to meet the fair trial requirements and fulfil the obligations under the International Court of Justice’s decision.
The Ministry of Law and Justice moved the court under the recently-promulgated the International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Ordinance with a request to appoint a counsel for the Indian spy in the national interest.
The development came as Jadhav refused to avail the offer to file a review petition last week.
At that time, the Foreign Office said that Pakistan had enacted the I International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Ordinance, under which a review petition could be submitted to the IHC within 60 days of the legislation coming into effect. The 60-day time limit ended on July 19.
Last week, Pakistan decided to give third consular access to Jadhav, as the Foreign Office said the Indian authorities were formally informed about the decision.
“The third consular access would be without the presence of security personnel,” said the Foreign Office spokesperson. However, New Delhi hasn’t yet responded to the offer.
Pakistan took this decision just a day after providing second consular access to Jadhav on Indian request, which was described by the Foreign Office as “unimpeded” and “uninterrupted”.
"Two consular officers of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad were provided unimpeded and uninterrupted consular access to Commander Jadhav at 1500 hours", the statement read.
An offer for consular access was first made in August 2019 but India rejected that while demanding unimpeded access to the spy. Later on September 2, the first consular access under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) 1963 was provided.